Laura’s Story

Laura has always loved how science has allowed her to understand the world.  Two exceptional science teachers at Ben Lippen High School in Columbia, S.C., inspired Laura to consider a career as a chemistry teacher.  The desire to teach remained with Laura as an undergraduate at the University of South Carolina.  Upon graduation, she volunteered at a school in Uganda and taught supplemental lessons in chemistry. However, she discovered that, “The school also needed help in areas that I could not provide, such as sustainable funding.”  The experience led Laura to obtain a master’s degree in international comparative education.

Laura worked as a research analyst at the Stanford School of Medicine but soon realized that she was not passionate about a career in research.  “I missed developing relationships with students and explaining material to them.  This led me back to the Stanford School of Education to learn how to become a teacher.” Laura knew she made the right choice when her classes covered “what I originally wanted to learn after leaving Uganda—how to try to help every student in the classroom learn.”